Bitcoin does not solve any problems!

[momagic]

The way things are going with Bitcoin banks, Bitcoin gambling etc will Bitcoin actually solve the evils associated with money?

In the UK we blame the bankers for all the problems. What makes the Bitcoin Banks/Exchanges different than the greedy bankers? You say 'it's decentralized' but the people who have all the Bitcoins actually control the whole economy... like Goldman Sucks control the world.

Just a few thoughts, don't troll me too hard.

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[Rothgar]

I have a dream, a dream that all of gods children will not need to exchange their bitcoins for anything other than goods or services.

A dream where people say "Fiat?  What's that?"

I have a dream.

[ralree]

These are not problems with money; these are human problems - problems with greed, incompetence, etc.

[billysykes]

I have a dream of going to the supermarket and paying with BTC, once I can fill my car, buy groceries and pay for bills. I no longer need fiat......When that day comes I will party hard.

[nobbynobbynoob]

I have a dream of going to the supermarket and paying with BTC, once I can fill my car, buy groceries and pay for bills. I no longer need fiat......When that day comes I will party hard.

This may or may not happen, though I do foresee the possibility of a sizeable number of B&M stores accepting BTC/LTC, with the majority of transaction volume remaining (at least temporarily) in fiat.

[MysteryMiner]

With Bitcoin we have at least opportunity for change. If it is used properly. Keep the coins yourself, don't trust exchanges, banks and similar establishments. Trade person to person to avoid middleman and tracking. The problems are humans, but Bitcoin is great and unique tool to be used by our side.

[momagic]

The problems are humans, but Bitcoin is great and unique tool to be used by our side.

But if Bitcoin hits the mainstream, mothers and wives will find BTC to complicated to handle. If it does hit the main stream expect the masses to be trading with Satoshis, even I don't get that one.

[astutiumRob]

Bitcoin does not solve any problems!

Did you forget to tick the "world peace" option when you installed the client ?

will Bitcoin actually solve the evils associated with money?

How would a-n-other type of "money" solve a perceived problem with money ?

What _problem_ are you seeing, that you'd like to see bitcoin help you fix ?

[JackH]

You dont get it, Bitcoin is not ment to replace the current system, since banks are important for certain things, such as lending, financing, investments etc.

Bitcoin however is offering an alternative. Gone will be the days of having to apply for a merchant account and go through crappy rules at the banks backed up by their masters, Visa and Mastercard.

Gone as the days when the inflation can skyrocket and people's money loose value because someone in the top wanted to print more cash.

And gone are the days of extreme fees, frozen bank accounts, levies on money (Cyprus anyone?).

Bitcoin is that alternative that will get the banks to start respecting their clients once again. Its a competitive model that will get people to question why certain things are like they are. It will make paypal to rethink their extreme fees and arrogance.

Embrace Bitcoin because this is your only safe bet against the powers that be at the moment.

[BitcoinAshley]

Stefan Molyneux covers this phenomenon well. For some reason, whenever someone proposes a radical new theory that could solve many problems we currently face, people assume it's presented as a utopian theory when it's not.

So, since nobody proposes that bitcoin will solve all the world's problems, we don't have to prove that. We do propose that bitcoin will solve many of the world's problems better than they are currently being addressed, and there is oodles of writing on how fiat enables all kinds of evil and the various concepts behind bitcoin will help eradicate fiat, etc., etc.

Also, human nature is a social construct. 

[Elwar]

The problems are humans, but Bitcoin is great and unique tool to be used by our side.

But if Bitcoin hits the mainstream, mothers and wives will find BTC to complicated to handle. If it does hit the main stream expect the masses to be trading with Satoshis, even I don't get that one.

I showed my 73 year old mother how to exchange bitcoins on her iPhone. It was quite easy.

[momagic]

I hear all of you guys but what about the whole bullshit backstory story? The way I see it Bitcoin is an alternative to the system, the same system that has put a stranglehold on freedom.

It's exactly the same thing, should BTC become a world leader the whole world will change... but will it be for the better?

[whitenight639]

For too long we have been being nudged slowly towards a cashless society, partly by design, partly by laziness and apathy,

Bitcoin is Cash 2.0 It has the advantages of cash and more, It's like cash with a property title attached to it, It means people own their own labour and time rather than the debt based paper backed by your brothers labour and time. Bitcoins are not subject to the whim of central or retail bankers, or politicians.

[momagic]

For too long we have been being nudged slowly towards a cashless society, partly by design, partly by laziness and apathy,

Bitcoin is Cash 2.0 It has the advantages of cash and more, It's like cash with a property title attached to it, It means people own their own labour and time rather than the debt based paper backed by your brothers labour and time. Bitcoins are not subject to the whim of central or retail bankers, or politicians.

Yes, but whose? Satoshi?

[whitenight639]

For too long we have been being nudged slowly towards a cashless society, partly by design, partly by laziness and apathy,

Bitcoin is Cash 2.0 It has the advantages of cash and more, It's like cash with a property title attached to it, It means people own their own labour and time rather than the debt based paper backed by your brothers labour and time. Bitcoins are not subject to the whim of central or retail bankers, or politicians.

Yes, but whose? Satoshi?

no, nor the devs,

if anything it is subject to the majority of nodes / users / miners.

[BitPirate]

The problems are humans, but Bitcoin is great and unique tool to be used by our side.

But if Bitcoin hits the mainstream, mothers and wives will find BTC to complicated to handle. If it does hit the main stream expect the masses to be trading with Satoshis, even I don't get that one.

First of all, sexism isn't sexy dude.

Secondly, it's a problem that will solve itself. As adoption increases, there will be money to be made from building a better interface. As these interfaces get better, adoption will further increase.

It's happened so man times before, with almost every gadget, appliance and service we use today.

[Wilikon]

I have a simple question for the OP: When was the world ever good and fair? Was it before the invention of money? before the concept of bartering? Maybe it was before the invention of humans?

Your question is beyond Bitcoin's err... pay grade. Bitcoin is trying to fulfill one objective. What you seek could be found in spirituality or deep meditation, but not inside a bitcoin wallet.

Obviously it is a fun thread and I guess you already knew all that :-)

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Tell me, did ordinary people benefit from email coming into existence?  Did it solve any problems?  It's just another form of mail isn't it?

[befuddled]

What makes the Bitcoin Banks/Exchanges different than the greedy bankers?

Banking is not inherently problematic or corrupt. The problem comes when the state 1) ensures deposits, and 2) gives them a monopoly on the creation of debt-backed money. The bankers book accounting profits when they make risky bets that pay off. But when the deflationary bust follows the inflationary expansion, the deposit guarantees become become a hammer over the sovereign and/or central bank, who ultimately take the bad debts off the balance sheets of the banks giving them good money in return (e.g. Maiden Lane and MBS) because they don't have any way of making good on the deposit insurance if they let the bank fail. Thus, profits are privatized for the bankers' bonuses, and losses are socialized, either through debasement of currency or outright bailouts from the sovereign (e.g. TARP).  This corruption is not even an unintended consequence of statism. It's right there in the FDIC charter (in the US case): "to create confidence in the banking system". Why is it a good thing to have confidence in an insolvent bank?

Under laissez-faire capitalism, bankers would have to compete on the basis of solvency, and would live in mortal fear of a bank run. They would never have taken the risks they ran in the runup to the banking crisis. Depositors would understand that their deposits are no better than the ability of the bank to make good on them. Depositors would want to know that the bank is solvent.

But because the sovereign and central bank are backing the banks, the ultimate consequence (historically) is debasement of the currency in an attempt to preserve the status quo by covering bad debts of banks (as well as to cover the fiscal insanity of the sovereign who can always find voters willing to vote for free-anything that the state otherwise has no way of paying for).

That's where Bitcoin comes in and why it's different. It can serve as a monetary base that cannot be debased by the state. It is a currency that can't be hyperinflated away.

[Timo Y]

The difference between bitcoin and and the banking system:

Bitcoiners gamble with their own money.
Banks gamble with your money.